Dover, Del. (Aug. 27, 2022) — The Delaware State volleyball team ended their season-opening weekend on a high note with a 3-2 victory over Idaho in the Hornets’ get-away match at the DoubleTree-Youngstown State Invitational.
The contest was the second straight five-set affair for the Hornets, who played 14 sets in the two-day tournament. Karen Cordero led Delaware State in kills for the third straight match with 14, giving her 40 in the Hornets’ three tourney matches.
Kelsie Daw son added nine kills on 15 attacks (.467), while Alondra Maldonado and Danielle Allen tallied eight each. Sydney Lewis contributed to the win with seven kills and a career-high nine blocks. Her previous high was eight blocks vs. North Carolina A&T in a MEAC Tournament match on Apr. 2, 2021.
Delaware State won the first set 27-25, but Idaho evened the match with a 25-20 victory in the second set,
The Hornets posted a .378 hitting percentage in the third set (17 kills on37 attacks) to highlight their 25-22 win to open up a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Vandals forced a deciding fifth set with a 25-22 victory in set four.
There were seven ties in the fifth set, the last at 13-13 on an error by the Vandals. Lewis followed with a kill to give the Hornets a 14-13 lead, and combined with Maldonado on a block for the set and match-winning point.
Delaware State (1-2) will play its 2022 home opener on Wed. (Aug. 31) against Manhattan. The start time is 6:00 p.m. in Memorial Hall. The Hornets will host a four-team invitational next weekend (Sep. 2-3). The field also includes Hartford, Loyola (Md.), and Quinnipiac.